Want to open up another can? Circumcision!

Did you have your sons circumcised or not? If so, why? If not, why not? Discuss. This is mainly an American issue, I know. I've lived in Europe and it did affect my thinking on the topic.

I did NOT have my son circumcised for 3 reasons:

"To look like Dad" is not a compelling reason to me. To look like everyone else is also not valid anymore, in my area it's about 50/50.

There is no medical reason for routinely doing it. The reasons that people usually use are either old wives tales or are extremely rare.

I've seen it done several times and there is no way I could live with myself for doing that to an infant unless there was a life or death good reason for it.

I do think valid reasons exist, as in religious reasons or individual issues that had to be addressed. I just wondered what everyone else's experience had been. I'd also love to hear from Europeans as to what your take on this issue is.

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LaCi - posted on 06/03/2009

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Quoting Cori:

It is funny that this post has made me even more secure in my decision to have my son circumcized than I was before. Many of the "facts" that some of the women on here who are against circumcision have been spreading have been misconstrued, misinterpreted, or made up. I have spent the day looking up many of the articles, and agencies such as the AAP, and so called historical history of circumcision and have found that the many of the statistics or opinions of agencies have been changed.

For example, whoever said the STD information was from the 1940s is looking at very old data. I have found numerous articles with statistics done between 2000 and 2006 which may be different than whatever articles you are looking at, but most state that circumcision is correlated with lower insidences of certain STDs, not all.

Also, I found that two partial reasons for lower circumcision rates in certain European countries has to do with governments taking over healthcare and trying to cut costs. The second reason cited was that some of it had to do with not wanting to be associated with the Jewish communities during the times of Hitler so many non Jewish families and cultures stopped circumcizing for this reason.

The quote about the AAP not reccomending circumcision was also somewhat misconstrued. The survey taken of pediatrcians states that 74% do not reccomend to or not to circumcise, 14% circumcision, and 9% reccomend not circumcizing. There are more statistics that go with that study about pediatrician practices on circumcision, but it does not actually survey their opinions.

And last, there are some of you who are giving either large exagerations or horrible stories of how circumcisions are performed. First, if you are only going by heresay or what you have read was done in the past, then you have no actual experience and no reason for scaring people. Second, after reading many of the posts on here and the stories I found on the internet there are just as many painful and horrible incidences of men with proper hygiene who have had horrible infections or side affects of not being circumcised.

Laci So, to tell those of us who have actually witnessed our sons being circumcised that what we saw is not what happened is just passing lies. My son was not snipped anywhere, the scissors were only used to cut the string placed over the foreskin and around the plastic ring, there was nothing shoved down the shaft of his penis ever, he was not in shock at any point, and my son is not numb in that area in any way as I have seen him grab it in the bath tub or put it under the running water and obviously got a very pleasant sensation from it. And on your statement about homesexuals, there is actually more significant recent data on this group of males suggesting that circumcision does decrease the risk and spread of STDs.

I had my son circumcised the day we left the hospital mainly because from everything I read it is a lot easier to keep it clean and from getting any kind of infections. I know everyone talks about the pain but when I cleaned it or gave him a bath he never cried.

and If i throw him across the room or kick him in the face, does it make it any less wrong just because he wont remember it? ridiculous again. you don't have to remember things to have been traumatized. And I'm done now, really. :)

Well your obviously crazy

you're obviously slow. so now i understand why you are the way you are.

I had my son circumcised the day we left the hospital mainly because from everything I read it is a lot easier to keep it clean and from getting any kind of infections. I know everyone talks about the pain but when I cleaned it or gave him a bath he never cried.

and If i throw him across the room or kick him in the face, does it make it any less wrong just because he wont remember it? ridiculous again. you don't have to remember things to have been traumatized. And I'm done now, really. :)

It is funny that this post has made me even more secure in my decision to have my son circumcized than I was before. Many of the "facts" that some of the women on here who are against circumcision have been spreading have been misconstrued, misinterpreted, or made up. I have spent the day looking up many of the articles, and agencies such as the AAP, and so called historical history of circumcision and have found that the many of the statistics or opinions of agencies have been changed.

For example, whoever said the STD information was from the 1940s is looking at very old data. I have found numerous articles with statistics done between 2000 and 2006 which may be different than whatever articles you are looking at, but most state that circumcision is correlated with lower insidences of certain STDs, not all.

Also, I found that two partial reasons for lower circumcision rates in certain European countries has to do with governments taking over healthcare and trying to cut costs. The second reason cited was that some of it had to do with not wanting to be associated with the Jewish communities during the times of Hitler so many non Jewish families and cultures stopped circumcizing for this reason.

The quote about the AAP not reccomending circumcision was also somewhat misconstrued. The survey taken of pediatrcians states that 74% do not reccomend to or not to circumcise, 14% circumcision, and 9% reccomend not circumcizing. There are more statistics that go with that study about pediatrician practices on circumcision, but it does not actually survey their opinions.

And last, there are some of you who are giving either large exagerations or horrible stories of how circumcisions are performed. First, if you are only going by heresay or what you have read was done in the past, then you have no actual experience and no reason for scaring people. Second, after reading many of the posts on here and the stories I found on the internet there are just as many painful and horrible incidences of men with proper hygiene who have had horrible infections or side affects of not being circumcised.

Laci

So, to tell those of us who have actually witnessed our sons being circumcised that what we saw is not what happened is just passing lies. My son was not snipped anywhere, the scissors were only used to cut the string placed over the foreskin and around the plastic ring, there was nothing shoved down the shaft of his penis ever, he was not in shock at any point, and my son is not numb in that area in any way as I have seen him grab it in the bath tub or put it under the running water and obviously got a very pleasant sensation from it. And on your statement about homesexuals, there is actually more significant recent data on this group of males suggesting that circumcision does decrease the risk and spread of STDs.

My son is in his mid-20s, born in the mid 80s. We did not have him circumcised and he suffered no infections or worries.

When he grew to be a young adult and I suspected that he was sexually active, he asked me why he wasn't circumcised and said he wanted to do it. I suspect it was his girlfriend who was questioning why he was different. (we're american) By then he was a legal adult and could arrange this for himself.

I helped him to research what exactly they do in a circumcision. His face turned white and he thanked me for not letting them do this to him as an infant. He never brought it up again.

and If i throw him across the room or kick him in the face, does it make it any less wrong just because he wont remember it? ridiculous again. you don't have to remember things to have been traumatized. And I'm done now, really. :)

You are removing hundreds of thousands of nerve endings, how can you not lose feeling? thats the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. Like I said before, your tongue exposed for the rest of your life.

Sorry not what happened to my son and I WAS there in the room watching. My son did cry a little when they took it off, then hes fine and they gave him a shot to numb it before, but I guess he is "numb anyways in his pants now anyway" well sorry again but my husband is cercumcised and is not numb in the pants, hes got lots of feeling and your crazy for thinking that!! You REALLY think a baby remembers ANYTHING?? I am sure they don't my son has already LONG forgotten about it! And im sure he won't be made fun of or lost any sexual stimulation. My doctor however did recomend the procedure for medical reasons that some of you seem to think DONT exsist. I guess my doc is a quack though since you all seem to know more them him about it.

You were a lucky one then,maybe, since babies aren't generally numbed for any elective procedure. When they go as a child they get painkillers, my doctors have never allowed it for him under any circumstances. I was told if I wanted him numb I'd have to wait 1 year, just to have his tongue clipped. And yes, they do lose sexual stimulation as well as an entire method of having sex.

Sorry not what happened to my son and I WAS there in the room watching. My son did cry a little when they took it off, then hes fine and they gave him a shot to numb it before, but I guess he is "numb anyways in his pants now anyway" well sorry again but my husband is cercumcised and is not numb in the pants, hes got lots of feeling and your crazy for thinking that!! You REALLY think a baby remembers ANYTHING?? I am sure they don't my son has already LONG forgotten about it! And im sure he won't be made fun of or lost any sexual stimulation. My doctor however did recomend the procedure for medical reasons that some of you seem to think DONT exsist. I guess my doc is a quack though since you all seem to know more them him about it.

You were a lucky one then,maybe, since babies aren't generally numbed for any elective procedure. When they go as a child they get painkillers, my doctors have never allowed it for him under any circumstances. I was told if I wanted him numb I'd have to wait 1 year, just to have his tongue clipped. And yes, they do lose sexual stimulation as well as an entire method of having sex.

Reading the posts on here make me laugh and made me realize that people will say anything to prove their point and think that in some way it is justified. My son was circumcized and if my next child is a boy, he will be also. I am not ignorant and have made a very informed decision about this choice. Those of you against circumcision will have your arguments and justify yourself in any means possible to let yourself think you are better mothers than those of us who made an informed decision that was different from yours. Here are my reasons for circumcision and my arguments to some of your comments you have made back to others.

#1 Yes, it has been proven that circumcision lowers that instance of STD's including HIV. There are scientific and medical journals that have done studies proving both sides and I have made my choice after looking at numerous approved studies. you can find unapproved and biased studies proving either side of any debate so when finding your statistics please realize as a person with a Science degree I have researched the information available and also know to weed out the biased and unproven research.

Also, some have argued that teaching safe sex will reduce the risk of STD's and I agree, but having taught middle and high school for 6 years I realize that no matter how much you talk about it with your child you will (or at least I hope not) be there with your child when they have sex for the first time or any time after that and thought your teaching and open communication may help it is not always the first thing on their mind.

And finally, I could argue that subjecting your daughter to the new HPV vaccination and possibly some horrible and dangerous side affects is just as dangerous even though it is not a surgery. The vaccination has not been around long enough to have definitive studies about its long term affects, but many are willing to take that chance. And you may say that it is their choice, but I have known many parents that when explaining the options to their child empasize the decision they want their child to make and discount the arguments against it so is it really an informed decision?

#2 When looking at the statistics for circumcision rates in the U.S. please make sure your research is accurate, not biased, and you read all the information. When I made the decision to have my son circumcised I was still pregnant and spoke with doctors in our area about the decision. One doctor and many studies say that the percentage of circumcisions is now down to 50%, but after speaking with another doctor and reading further into the studies, I realized you have to take into account the percentage of low income and people without health insurance or with poor health insurance. Many issurances now consider it to be an elective procedure so will not cover it or will only cover a small portion. Circumcision can be anywhere from $250 to $400 or more so if my choice was between circumcizing my child and eating that month, my decision would definitely have been different, but if your reasoning for not circumcizing is because of this statistic, please realize that many of the families in these studies did not have a choice in the matter and the research did not ask them that question it only looked at the percentage of newborns circumcized. In my area where the current rate of non-circumcized newborns is just over %50, the low income and families without health insurance is over %65. There is a correlation!

#3 Those of you stating that it is mutilation and you are speaking out because of human rights do you also speak out for animals. Wouldn't your arguement also go for animal rights. I mean dogs and cats were not born nuetered or spayed and I haven't met a dog or cat yet that has spoken to me, much less informed that they would choose to be spayed or nuetered so even though I think the responsible thing for pet owners is to spay and nueter I would have to say based on your arguement that that is mutilation.

And on the ear peircing, your daughter can make that choice when she is older. Why subject her to pain she hasn't asked for at an age where they don't understand what is going on and could care less about having earings. I haven't seen them give out pain medication before piercing ears yet so you subjecting your daughter to unwanted and unneccessary pain with out her consent and that is a form of body mutiliation or deformation. God didn't place holes in our ears to put earings in so based on some of the arguments above this would be considered mutilation.

And last on the mutilation topic. I cannot speak for medical centers all over, but when my son was circumcised they did not rip or tear skin off in anyway so describe circumcision in that way is uninformed. I went in with my son and was their for the entire procedure, not making my opinion or judgement based on hearing screams outside a door and asking what was going on and then letting my mind come up with how the procedure went. My son's legs were strapped to a devise to hold his legs in place for his protection (this was the worst part for my son as he did not like being held in place), he was then given a shot to numb the area and was allowed to nurse or have a bottle for the couple minutes while the shot took affect. A plastic ring called the bell was placed around the penis which did not hurt him in anyway, it is like putting a ring on your finger. His foreskin was then folded back over the bell and a string was tied around the foreskin pressing it against the plastic ring to cut off circulation. He was then unstrapped allowed to nurse and sent home with the instructions to give him tylenol every four to six hours for the next day or two if he seemed in pain. There was no cutting, ripping, or tearing of the foreskin as mentioned in some of the posts above by people who have never had it done to their son. My son had no complication and was not fussy or seemed in pain at all (for those questioning me, he did not cry anymore over the next couple days than he did before the procedure and never for any unexplained reason.), and the foreskin and ring fell off about 6 to 8 days later in a similar way that the umbilical cord stub did and my son didn't even notice it. The worst part was him having to be strapped down, which when he got his immunization shots both before and since the circumcision he hated being held down so the nurse could do them more than the shots themselves.

#4 I did not have my son circumcised so he could look like his father, but that is a benefit. I could argue that even though yours is the easier option by not circumcizing your son it does make it much easier for you that your husband is not circumcized and then isn't that a cosmetic reason not to have it done?

Sorry for how long this post was, but my main point is that you can find statistics and research on both sides of this choice and some of the ones mentioned above are good resources and some are not and many of the statistics in the earlier posts have been taken out of contect to prove a point as opposed to giving people the resource to look at for themselves and read the entire study. I will never believe a statistic someone quotes to prove their own point or agenda until I have read the research they are quoting for myself. Please realize there is scientific and proven data out there for circumcision as well and many of us making that choice have read the data on both sides. So calling us ignorant when we may have done even more research than you in making our choice makes you seem ignorant.

That's a long post, so I'll try to respond to the points one at a time...

#1 - If you have information you think the rest of us have not seen, please share. I suspect many of us have advanced degrees in the sciences and medicine, but that's not really the point. The fact that so many well constructed studies produce widely varying results to me indicates a complete lack of correlation between STD"s and circumcision. Culture, sterile medical procedures, availability of contraception, etc. are likely more significant. And those same of those studies from Africa also showed female circumcision reduced HIV rates. Makes sense if you believe it is true for men - remove all those skin folds where bacteria and such can thrive right? But I don't think we should circumcise girls or boys. But just looking at circumcision and STD rates in the US lead me to believe it doesn't have a very protective effect. Mass vaccinations have eliminated a number of childhood diseases - but with the highest circumcision rate in the industrialized world, we also happen to have the highest STD rates.

#2 - The national circumcision rate is what it is. I'm not sure what social class has to do with anything. The fact is that fewer boys are being circumcised, and I think there's likely good reason that insurance companies consider the procedure cosmetic. But regardless, the fact that everyone else might or might do one thing or another does not make it right.

#3 - I don't think baby girls' ears should be pierced. And at least when you have an animal spayed or neutered they get general anesthesia and pain relief. A newborn being circumcised gets a topical anesthetic and tylenol.

I know you say you watched your son's circumcision, but I guarantee you that they had to tear his foreskin away from the head of the penis. My son's foreskin is firmly adhered to his glans, as it has been from birth. When the circumcise using a clamp, they have to first break the adhesions. As for a source, try this video demo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-9oAqal6LU

This is on a model - no real penis and no blood. But the point where they "break adhesions" is tearing the foreskin from the glans. The "dorsal cut" is cutting the foreskin so the clamp can go on.

#4 - You're right about the 'look like dad' thing. I don't expect my son's penis to look anything like my husband's. Circumcised or not, adult and baby penises look different. This wasn't a consideration for me. The fact that every major medical organization in the world says there is no medical justification for routine infant circumcision, and that they classify it as a cosmetic procedure, was a lot more persuasive.

Sorry not what happened to my son and I WAS there in the room watching. My son did cry a little when they took it off, then hes fine and they gave him a shot to numb it before, but I guess he is "numb anyways in his pants now anyway" well sorry again but my husband is cercumcised and is not numb in the pants, hes got lots of feeling and your crazy for thinking that!! You REALLY think a baby remembers ANYTHING?? I am sure they don't my son has already LONG forgotten about it! And im sure he won't be made fun of or lost any sexual stimulation. My doctor however did recomend the procedure for medical reasons that some of you seem to think DONT exsist. I guess my doc is a quack though since you all seem to know more them him about it.

I think that all the people who want their boys circumcised should be forced to watch, there is a reason they do it in a different room. It has nothing to do with sanitation. First they cut a snip of the foreskin, then they PRY IT BACKWARDS while the child is screaming but restrained on a table. Then they jab objects down the penis shaft to separate the foreskin from the penis. At this point your child is not screaming so loudly, because he is actually in SHOCK. then they snip off the foreskin, and you are left with a surgical wound to clean, rather than a normal healthy penis which requires NO EXTRA CARE.

Also consider if your son happens to be gay this eliminates one form of sexual stimulation for him.

But it wont really matter, since he's practically numb in the pants now anyway and his first experience with his penis is one of shock and immense pain.

that is actually not true. They may get a yeast infection at some point in their life, just as a girl might. But fact of the matter is you are taking an organ that is supposed to be wet and permanently drying it out. Imagine the rest of your life having your tongue outside of your mouth.

WOW, Some people are really hard on those of us who DID have our little boys circumcised!!! I'm shocked & offended.

I have both my boys done & if we have another boy someday, Will have him done to!

My husband said it's what he would rather have for them. It's easier to keep clean. (not that I don't clean my children but they are boys so lets think of how some men really do keep themselfs...haha) It does reduce the chance of gettig an STD & after talking to many of my friends it is a vanity thing as well. Sorry it's better looking in my opinion. Dad is done, boys are done. We are happy here. IT's a personal choice neither right nor wrong. So please some of you stop being so harsh!

There is no extra clean up with an uncircumcised penis. that is a common misconception from our lack of education in america. There is actually more work involved caring for a WOUND than washing a child. You aren't supposed to do anything to the penis. You wash it with soap and water like any other body part.

I did not circumcise my son, its cruel. If he wants to be circumcised for whatever reason he can do it himself when he's older, mutilating his body is not my decision to make. Hopefully this trend goes away, but since they're trying to feed us this 1940s propaganda about circumcision preventing STDs I'm sure people will be scared back into mutilation.

If female circumcision is illegal in the US male circumcision should be as well.

The doctor who released me from the hospital asked if I wanted to have him circumcised, when I said no he said "god bless you!"

Its very comforting to see how many of you did not circumcise your boys, maybe mine won't go through the period of awkwardness my few uncut friends did in their teen years :)

We had a daughter but if we would have had a son we would have got him done. Each person has their own reasons why they would or wouldn't get their son done and i have no problem with people who would not get there children done but i hate when people look down upon the parents who would get their son done...it is our choice not yours and just b/c we believe in getting it done(and no not for religious reasons either) don't try and make us feel like monsters for doing it.

I did not have my son circumcised. My OBGYN that delivered my son said it was really an unnecessary procedure and he would not recommend the procedure. This was 18 years ago. With good hygiene there have been no medical issues, As far as I know, my son has not had any issues with not being circumcised at least none that he would have mentioned over the years.

I could not agree with you more!!! I saw my sons done and it was a similar procedure that you are discrubing, I don't understand why some of you are saying it is torn of oh and what mitulation I have caused my son! My son cried for a min and I got him right after the procedure and we had to wait an hour and went home. He had it done when he was 8 days old. (he was in NICU for 8 days due to immature lungs) when we got home he was fine and to this day he is fine almost 2. Not like he sits there mad at me or my husband for "mutilating" him. I am sure he would thank us one day rather then be mad at us! So maybe some of you should not be so quick to judge, the ones who are agnist it are the ones being mean to those of us who chose to have it done. It is personal opinion and when some of your sons have to get it done in adulthood or older childhood they may be a little more mad at you then my 8 day old was when I had it done FOR him!

Do you have a son? Have you had him circumcised? Could you please share the medical journals you are getting your information from so the rest of us can look up that information for ourselves instead of recieving it second hand?

In response to Lisa's statement about the foreskin being attached to the glans like a finger nail to a finger, I watched the circumcision and that is not what happened at all. The foreskin was folded back over the plastic ring as far as it would naturally go and nothing was snipped or torn. As far as circumcision for other boys I cannot say as I have not been there personnally to watch first hand, but from your statement I would assume you have witnessed many first hand to be able to tell someone what happened to there own son.

And Tamara Tamara, I disagree that the wound takes a long time to heal if taken care of properly just like you argue that taking care of the uncircumcised penis properly will not lead to any infections. And not all infections are easliy treatable and some do happen regardless of how clean a person is! And since I haven't known a newborn be able to talk or communicate so you know exactly what they are thinking, I think it is very foolish of any of you to assume you know better than the child's own mother whether that child has forgotten about the procedure or not and whether or not that child loves you as was mentioned in a previous post by someone. To tell a mother that her child does not love her for a day or whatever amount of time for whatever reason is judgemental and callous.

Judge and make assumptions for your own child, but until you have walked in the shoes of the person you are judging or gain some unexplainable ability to understand the in depth thoughts of a newborn, please stop telling us what our children are thinking.

I read many of the replies to this but not all ,,,,i do have an opinion however,,,i am the mother of two boys ,,,one is now 25 the other is 14,,,they do have different fathers,,,i had the first circumcised because that was when they did feel HPV was more commonly spread by uncircumsised men and because his father was circumsised,,,it was a horrible experience,,,,my son was a premie and they couldn't do it till he was about 9 weeks old,,,it was done by a urologist,,,,i could not hold him for 12 hours,,,he screamed for hours and was totally unconsolable,,,when i could finally hold him he still wimpered and cried,,,every time he peed for the next couple of days the crying would start,,,when my second son was born the HPV info was different,,,this father was uncircumsised but he did want his son circumsised,,,but the decision was on me and i said no,,,,i was not going through that again,,,now my second son is 14 ,,,we only had one problem ,,,i had to take him to the er when he got his foreskin caught in the zipper of a blanket sleeper he insisted on wearing with nothing else at age 4,,,bet this boy never goes comando,,,he still remembers the incident,,,if i were to have another boy i would say no to circumsision

Yes my 10 year old son is circumcised and was done at about 2 1/2. But i am one of the rare parents that had to make the decision for medical reasons. He was admitted to hospital one night screaming in pain - he had Balinitis and infection in the foreskin. His foreskin was too tight and therefore the choice was plain and simple - he would not have outgrown it - he had been under a specialist for over a year already and this was her concern. We didnt opt for it straight away because it wasnt something my husband and i had decided to do. But when your child screams and there is nothing you can do, and then he refuses to eat and drink because it means he has to pee - you make the choice that in the long run will be better for him.

Without this problem i probably would not have had him done though. It not as common as it once was and he is probably in the minority at his school.

Yes my 10 year old son is circumcised and was done at about 2 1/2. But i am one of the rare parents that had to make the decision for medical reasons. He was admitted to hospital one night screaming in pain - he had Balinitis and infection in the foreskin. His foreskin was too tight and therefore the choice was plain and simple - he would not have outgrown it - he had been under a specialist for over a year already and this was her concern. We didnt opt for it straight away because it wasnt something my husband and i had decided to do. But when your child screams and there is nothing you can do, and then he refuses to eat and drink because it means he has to pee - you make the choice that in the long run will be better for him.

Without this problem i probably would not have had him done though. It not as common as it once was and he is probably in the minority at his school.

Okay for u parents out there who do not want to circumsize their boys cause "its mutilation" well aparently u have not had your infants experience excruciating pain due to a urinary tract infection....because despite your best efforts u did not keep it as clean as u thought...so u had to sit thru painful sessions of nurses and doctors trying to hold him still to put a cath up the already tiny penis hole to get a good clean sample of urine....multiple times after failing at atempt after atempt so gee whats worse a few min of pain that they r going to forget 5 min later or chancing bad infections like that ...why take the chance??? and aparently u ladies have not been with a man who hasnt been.....and gotten a bacteria infection from someone who may have not been as clean as u thought.....so Moms.....save your boys the extra trouble and get it done now ...instead of them having to stop in the middle of forplay and say oh wait let me go wash my penis so u dont get any bacteria stuck up there!!! but hey ...just opinions right.... save those guys from having to deal with it later.....9 times out of 10 ...they r gonna thank you!!!

Having been with an intact man in addition to a circumcised man, the foreskin retracts when the phallus is erect, therefore your assertation is false.

I agree, a UTI is painful, and I wouldn't wish it on anyine but did the doctors or nurses try what's called a "clean catch" where they tape a sterile bag to the penis to catch urine instead of cathing which requires very painful retraction of the foreskin?

Your assumption that the baby forgets about the pain 5 minutes later is simply foolish. The child has an OPEN WOUND on his genitals that takes a long time to heal and that should have never been inflicted on him in the first place without a very good MEDICAL reason. Infections are treatable. Removal of a part of the anatomy can't be taken back.

Reading the posts on here make me laugh and made me realize that people will say anything to prove their point and think that in some way it is justified. My son was circumcized and if my next child is a boy, he will be also. I am not ignorant and have made a very informed decision about this choice. Those of you against circumcision will have your arguments and justify yourself in any means possible to let yourself think you are better mothers than those of us who made an informed decision that was different from yours. Here are my reasons for circumcision and my arguments to some of your comments you have made back to others.

#1 Yes, it has been proven that circumcision lowers that instance of STD's including HIV. There are scientific and medical journals that have done studies proving both sides and I have made my choice after looking at numerous approved studies. you can find unapproved and biased studies proving either side of any debate so when finding your statistics please realize as a person with a Science degree I have researched the information available and also know to weed out the biased and unproven research.

Also, some have argued that teaching safe sex will reduce the risk of STD's and I agree, but having taught middle and high school for 6 years I realize that no matter how much you talk about it with your child you will (or at least I hope not) be there with your child when they have sex for the first time or any time after that and thought your teaching and open communication may help it is not always the first thing on their mind.

And finally, I could argue that subjecting your daughter to the new HPV vaccination and possibly some horrible and dangerous side affects is just as dangerous even though it is not a surgery. The vaccination has not been around long enough to have definitive studies about its long term affects, but many are willing to take that chance. And you may say that it is their choice, but I have known many parents that when explaining the options to their child empasize the decision they want their child to make and discount the arguments against it so is it really an informed decision?

#2 When looking at the statistics for circumcision rates in the U.S. please make sure your research is accurate, not biased, and you read all the information. When I made the decision to have my son circumcised I was still pregnant and spoke with doctors in our area about the decision. One doctor and many studies say that the percentage of circumcisions is now down to 50%, but after speaking with another doctor and reading further into the studies, I realized you have to take into account the percentage of low income and people without health insurance or with poor health insurance. Many issurances now consider it to be an elective procedure so will not cover it or will only cover a small portion. Circumcision can be anywhere from $250 to $400 or more so if my choice was between circumcizing my child and eating that month, my decision would definitely have been different, but if your reasoning for not circumcizing is because of this statistic, please realize that many of the families in these studies did not have a choice in the matter and the research did not ask them that question it only looked at the percentage of newborns circumcized. In my area where the current rate of non-circumcized newborns is just over %50, the low income and families without health insurance is over %65. There is a correlation!

#3 Those of you stating that it is mutilation and you are speaking out because of human rights do you also speak out for animals. Wouldn't your arguement also go for animal rights. I mean dogs and cats were not born nuetered or spayed and I haven't met a dog or cat yet that has spoken to me, much less informed that they would choose to be spayed or nuetered so even though I think the responsible thing for pet owners is to spay and nueter I would have to say based on your arguement that that is mutilation.

And on the ear peircing, your daughter can make that choice when she is older. Why subject her to pain she hasn't asked for at an age where they don't understand what is going on and could care less about having earings. I haven't seen them give out pain medication before piercing ears yet so you subjecting your daughter to unwanted and unneccessary pain with out her consent and that is a form of body mutiliation or deformation. God didn't place holes in our ears to put earings in so based on some of the arguments above this would be considered mutilation.

And last on the mutilation topic. I cannot speak for medical centers all over, but when my son was circumcised they did not rip or tear skin off in anyway so describe circumcision in that way is uninformed. I went in with my son and was their for the entire procedure, not making my opinion or judgement based on hearing screams outside a door and asking what was going on and then letting my mind come up with how the procedure went. My son's legs were strapped to a devise to hold his legs in place for his protection (this was the worst part for my son as he did not like being held in place), he was then given a shot to numb the area and was allowed to nurse or have a bottle for the couple minutes while the shot took affect. A plastic ring called the bell was placed around the penis which did not hurt him in anyway, it is like putting a ring on your finger. His foreskin was then folded back over the bell and a string was tied around the foreskin pressing it against the plastic ring to cut off circulation. He was then unstrapped allowed to nurse and sent home with the instructions to give him tylenol every four to six hours for the next day or two if he seemed in pain. There was no cutting, ripping, or tearing of the foreskin as mentioned in some of the posts above by people who have never had it done to their son. My son had no complication and was not fussy or seemed in pain at all (for those questioning me, he did not cry anymore over the next couple days than he did before the procedure and never for any unexplained reason.), and the foreskin and ring fell off about 6 to 8 days later in a similar way that the umbilical cord stub did and my son didn't even notice it. The worst part was him having to be strapped down, which when he got his immunization shots both before and since the circumcision he hated being held down so the nurse could do them more than the shots themselves.

#4 I did not have my son circumcised so he could look like his father, but that is a benefit. I could argue that even though yours is the easier option by not circumcizing your son it does make it much easier for you that your husband is not circumcized and then isn't that a cosmetic reason not to have it done?

Sorry for how long this post was, but my main point is that you can find statistics and research on both sides of this choice and some of the ones mentioned above are good resources and some are not and many of the statistics in the earlier posts have been taken out of contect to prove a point as opposed to giving people the resource to look at for themselves and read the entire study. I will never believe a statistic someone quotes to prove their own point or agenda until I have read the research they are quoting for myself. Please realize there is scientific and proven data out there for circumcision as well and many of us making that choice have read the data on both sides. So calling us ignorant when we may have done even more research than you in making our choice makes you seem ignorant.

Reading the posts on here make me laugh and made me realize that people will say anything to prove their point and think that in some way it is justified. My son was circumcized and if my next child is a boy, he will be also. I am not ignorant and have made a very informed decision about this choice. Those of you against circumcision will have your arguments and justify yourself in any means possible to let yourself think you are better mothers than those of us who made an informed decision that was different from yours. Here are my reasons for circumcision and my arguments to some of your comments you have made back to others.

#1 Yes, it has been proven that circumcision lowers that instance of STD's including HIV. There are scientific and medical journals that have done studies proving both sides and I have made my choice after looking at numerous approved studies. you can find unapproved and biased studies proving either side of any debate so when finding your statistics please realize as a person with a Science degree I have researched the information available and also know to weed out the biased and unproven research.

Also, some have argued that teaching safe sex will reduce the risk of STD's and I agree, but having taught middle and high school for 6 years I realize that no matter how much you talk about it with your child you will (or at least I hope not) be there with your child when they have sex for the first time or any time after that and thought your teaching and open communication may help it is not always the first thing on their mind.

And finally, I could argue that subjecting your daughter to the new HPV vaccination and possibly some horrible and dangerous side affects is just as dangerous even though it is not a surgery. The vaccination has not been around long enough to have definitive studies about its long term affects, but many are willing to take that chance. And you may say that it is their choice, but I have known many parents that when explaining the options to their child empasize the decision they want their child to make and discount the arguments against it so is it really an informed decision?

#2 When looking at the statistics for circumcision rates in the U.S. please make sure your research is accurate, not biased, and you read all the information. When I made the decision to have my son circumcised I was still pregnant and spoke with doctors in our area about the decision. One doctor and many studies say that the percentage of circumcisions is now down to 50%, but after speaking with another doctor and reading further into the studies, I realized you have to take into account the percentage of low income and people without health insurance or with poor health insurance. Many issurances now consider it to be an elective procedure so will not cover it or will only cover a small portion. Circumcision can be anywhere from $250 to $400 or more so if my choice was between circumcizing my child and eating that month, my decision would definitely have been different, but if your reasoning for not circumcizing is because of this statistic, please realize that many of the families in these studies did not have a choice in the matter and the research did not ask them that question it only looked at the percentage of newborns circumcized. In my area where the current rate of non-circumcized newborns is just over %50, the low income and families without health insurance is over %65. There is a correlation!

#3 Those of you stating that it is mutilation and you are speaking out because of human rights do you also speak out for animals. Wouldn't your arguement also go for animal rights. I mean dogs and cats were not born nuetered or spayed and I haven't met a dog or cat yet that has spoken to me, much less informed that they would choose to be spayed or nuetered so even though I think the responsible thing for pet owners is to spay and nueter I would have to say based on your arguement that that is mutilation.

And on the ear peircing, your daughter can make that choice when she is older. Why subject her to pain she hasn't asked for at an age where they don't understand what is going on and could care less about having earings. I haven't seen them give out pain medication before piercing ears yet so you subjecting your daughter to unwanted and unneccessary pain with out her consent and that is a form of body mutiliation or deformation. God didn't place holes in our ears to put earings in so based on some of the arguments above this would be considered mutilation.

And last on the mutilation topic. I cannot speak for medical centers all over, but when my son was circumcised they did not rip or tear skin off in anyway so describe circumcision in that way is uninformed. I went in with my son and was their for the entire procedure, not making my opinion or judgement based on hearing screams outside a door and asking what was going on and then letting my mind come up with how the procedure went. My son's legs were strapped to a devise to hold his legs in place for his protection (this was the worst part for my son as he did not like being held in place), he was then given a shot to numb the area and was allowed to nurse or have a bottle for the couple minutes while the shot took affect. A plastic ring called the bell was placed around the penis which did not hurt him in anyway, it is like putting a ring on your finger. His foreskin was then folded back over the bell and a string was tied around the foreskin pressing it against the plastic ring to cut off circulation. He was then unstrapped allowed to nurse and sent home with the instructions to give him tylenol every four to six hours for the next day or two if he seemed in pain. There was no cutting, ripping, or tearing of the foreskin as mentioned in some of the posts above by people who have never had it done to their son. My son had no complication and was not fussy or seemed in pain at all (for those questioning me, he did not cry anymore over the next couple days than he did before the procedure and never for any unexplained reason.), and the foreskin and ring fell off about 6 to 8 days later in a similar way that the umbilical cord stub did and my son didn't even notice it. The worst part was him having to be strapped down, which when he got his immunization shots both before and since the circumcision he hated being held down so the nurse could do them more than the shots themselves.

#4 I did not have my son circumcised so he could look like his father, but that is a benefit. I could argue that even though yours is the easier option by not circumcizing your son it does make it much easier for you that your husband is not circumcized and then isn't that a cosmetic reason not to have it done?

Sorry for how long this post was, but my main point is that you can find statistics and research on both sides of this choice and some of the ones mentioned above are good resources and some are not and many of the statistics in the earlier posts have been taken out of contect to prove a point as opposed to giving people the resource to look at for themselves and read the entire study. I will never believe a statistic someone quotes to prove their own point or agenda until I have read the research they are quoting for myself. Please realize there is scientific and proven data out there for circumcision as well and many of us making that choice have read the data on both sides. So calling us ignorant when we may have done even more research than you in making our choice makes you seem ignorant.

Wow - I'm really surprised at how extreme and judgmental some of the opinions are here! For me, there was never any question about circumcision. I'm Jewish and I have always known that if I had a boy, he would be circumcised. And for everyone I've ever spoken with on the topic (which is pretty much only Jewish folks as it just didn't come up for discussion with anyone else), it's just normal.

Circumcision began as Abraham's covenant with God, and has been kept up by the Jews since then. From a health-historic point of view, it makes sense as they were living in the desert and with the heat and dust and dirt, guys got infections. And at that time, infections were seriously life-threatening. So this was really a very protective practice in that context. Circumcision is supposed to take place on the 8th day after birth, which again makes sense to me - the baby has had a little time to gain some strength and weight, but is still newborn enough to be in that very quick-healing stage.

I found this CDC article: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factshe... It seems that circumcising babies is probably a worthwhile public health recommendation for developing countries. For western countries, with contemporary hygiene and medicine, it's obviously more of an open question.

Personally, I'm glad that my son won't have to be circumcised as an older child or an adult (I knew someone who had to have it done during college and it was awful, with a much longer recovery time than for babies). Parents need to research and consider what they are most comfortable with, weighing the risks of a small surgical procedure now against the possibility of medical problems and potentially needing a surgical procedure later on. Different people will have different perspectives. But there's really no need for us to be so harshly judgmental of each other for our decisions on this.

Reading the posts on here make me laugh and made me realize that people will say anything to prove their point and think that in some way it is justified. My son was circumcized and if my next child is a boy, he will be also. I am not ignorant and have made a very informed decision about this choice. Those of you against circumcision will have your arguments and justify yourself in any means possible to let yourself think you are better mothers than those of us who made an informed decision that was different from yours. Here are my reasons for circumcision and my arguments to some of your comments you have made back to others.

#1 Yes, it has been proven that circumcision lowers that instance of STD's including HIV. There are scientific and medical journals that have done studies proving both sides and I have made my choice after looking at numerous approved studies. you can find unapproved and biased studies proving either side of any debate so when finding your statistics please realize as a person with a Science degree I have researched the information available and also know to weed out the biased and unproven research.

Also, some have argued that teaching safe sex will reduce the risk of STD's and I agree, but having taught middle and high school for 6 years I realize that no matter how much you talk about it with your child you will (or at least I hope not) be there with your child when they have sex for the first time or any time after that and thought your teaching and open communication may help it is not always the first thing on their mind.

And finally, I could argue that subjecting your daughter to the new HPV vaccination and possibly some horrible and dangerous side affects is just as dangerous even though it is not a surgery. The vaccination has not been around long enough to have definitive studies about its long term affects, but many are willing to take that chance. And you may say that it is their choice, but I have known many parents that when explaining the options to their child empasize the decision they want their child to make and discount the arguments against it so is it really an informed decision?

#2 When looking at the statistics for circumcision rates in the U.S. please make sure your research is accurate, not biased, and you read all the information. When I made the decision to have my son circumcised I was still pregnant and spoke with doctors in our area about the decision. One doctor and many studies say that the percentage of circumcisions is now down to 50%, but after speaking with another doctor and reading further into the studies, I realized you have to take into account the percentage of low income and people without health insurance or with poor health insurance. Many issurances now consider it to be an elective procedure so will not cover it or will only cover a small portion. Circumcision can be anywhere from $250 to $400 or more so if my choice was between circumcizing my child and eating that month, my decision would definitely have been different, but if your reasoning for not circumcizing is because of this statistic, please realize that many of the families in these studies did not have a choice in the matter and the research did not ask them that question it only looked at the percentage of newborns circumcized. In my area where the current rate of non-circumcized newborns is just over %50, the low income and families without health insurance is over %65. There is a correlation!

#3 Those of you stating that it is mutilation and you are speaking out because of human rights do you also speak out for animals. Wouldn't your arguement also go for animal rights. I mean dogs and cats were not born nuetered or spayed and I haven't met a dog or cat yet that has spoken to me, much less informed that they would choose to be spayed or nuetered so even though I think the responsible thing for pet owners is to spay and nueter I would have to say based on your arguement that that is mutilation.

And on the ear peircing, your daughter can make that choice when she is older. Why subject her to pain she hasn't asked for at an age where they don't understand what is going on and could care less about having earings. I haven't seen them give out pain medication before piercing ears yet so you subjecting your daughter to unwanted and unneccessary pain with out her consent and that is a form of body mutiliation or deformation. God didn't place holes in our ears to put earings in so based on some of the arguments above this would be considered mutilation.

And last on the mutilation topic. I cannot speak for medical centers all over, but when my son was circumcised they did not rip or tear skin off in anyway so describe circumcision in that way is uninformed. I went in with my son and was their for the entire procedure, not making my opinion or judgement based on hearing screams outside a door and asking what was going on and then letting my mind come up with how the procedure went. My son's legs were strapped to a devise to hold his legs in place for his protection (this was the worst part for my son as he did not like being held in place), he was then given a shot to numb the area and was allowed to nurse or have a bottle for the couple minutes while the shot took affect. A plastic ring called the bell was placed around the penis which did not hurt him in anyway, it is like putting a ring on your finger. His foreskin was then folded back over the bell and a string was tied around the foreskin pressing it against the plastic ring to cut off circulation. He was then unstrapped allowed to nurse and sent home with the instructions to give him tylenol every four to six hours for the next day or two if he seemed in pain. There was no cutting, ripping, or tearing of the foreskin as mentioned in some of the posts above by people who have never had it done to their son. My son had no complication and was not fussy or seemed in pain at all (for those questioning me, he did not cry anymore over the next couple days than he did before the procedure and never for any unexplained reason.), and the foreskin and ring fell off about 6 to 8 days later in a similar way that the umbilical cord stub did and my son didn't even notice it. The worst part was him having to be strapped down, which when he got his immunization shots both before and since the circumcision he hated being held down so the nurse could do them more than the shots themselves.

#4 I did not have my son circumcised so he could look like his father, but that is a benefit. I could argue that even though yours is the easier option by not circumcizing your son it does make it much easier for you that your husband is not circumcized and then isn't that a cosmetic reason not to have it done?

Sorry for how long this post was, but my main point is that you can find statistics and research on both sides of this choice and some of the ones mentioned above are good resources and some are not and many of the statistics in the earlier posts have been taken out of contect to prove a point as opposed to giving people the resource to look at for themselves and read the entire study. I will never believe a statistic someone quotes to prove their own point or agenda until I have read the research they are quoting for myself. Please realize there is scientific and proven data out there for circumcision as well and many of us making that choice have read the data on both sides. So calling us ignorant when we may have done even more research than you in making our choice makes you seem ignorant.

Reading the posts on here make me laugh and made me realize that people will say anything to prove their point and think that in some way it is justified. My son was circumcized and if my next child is a boy, he will be also. I am not ignorant and have made a very informed decision about this choice. Those of you against circumcision will have your arguments and justify yourself in any means possible to let yourself think you are better mothers than those of us who made an informed decision that was different from yours. Here are my reasons for circumcision and my arguments to some of your comments you have made back to others.

#1 Yes, it has been proven that circumcision lowers that instance of STD's including HIV. There are scientific and medical journals that have done studies proving both sides and I have made my choice after looking at numerous approved studies. you can find unapproved and biased studies proving either side of any debate so when finding your statistics please realize as a person with a Science degree I have researched the information available and also know to weed out the biased and unproven research.

Also, some have argued that teaching safe sex will reduce the risk of STD's and I agree, but having taught middle and high school for 6 years I realize that no matter how much you talk about it with your child you will (or at least I hope not) be there with your child when they have sex for the first time or any time after that and thought your teaching and open communication may help it is not always the first thing on their mind.

And finally, I could argue that subjecting your daughter to the new HPV vaccination and possibly some horrible and dangerous side affects is just as dangerous even though it is not a surgery. The vaccination has not been around long enough to have definitive studies about its long term affects, but many are willing to take that chance. And you may say that it is their choice, but I have known many parents that when explaining the options to their child empasize the decision they want their child to make and discount the arguments against it so is it really an informed decision?

#2 When looking at the statistics for circumcision rates in the U.S. please make sure your research is accurate, not biased, and you read all the information. When I made the decision to have my son circumcised I was still pregnant and spoke with doctors in our area about the decision. One doctor and many studies say that the percentage of circumcisions is now down to 50%, but after speaking with another doctor and reading further into the studies, I realized you have to take into account the percentage of low income and people without health insurance or with poor health insurance. Many issurances now consider it to be an elective procedure so will not cover it or will only cover a small portion. Circumcision can be anywhere from $250 to $400 or more so if my choice was between circumcizing my child and eating that month, my decision would definitely have been different, but if your reasoning for not circumcizing is because of this statistic, please realize that many of the families in these studies did not have a choice in the matter and the research did not ask them that question it only looked at the percentage of newborns circumcized. In my area where the current rate of non-circumcized newborns is just over %50, the low income and families without health insurance is over %65. There is a correlation!

#3 Those of you stating that it is mutilation and you are speaking out because of human rights do you also speak out for animals. Wouldn't your arguement also go for animal rights. I mean dogs and cats were not born nuetered or spayed and I haven't met a dog or cat yet that has spoken to me, much less informed that they would choose to be spayed or nuetered so even though I think the responsible thing for pet owners is to spay and nueter I would have to say based on your arguement that that is mutilation.

And on the ear peircing, your daughter can make that choice when she is older. Why subject her to pain she hasn't asked for at an age where they don't understand what is going on and could care less about having earings. I haven't seen them give out pain medication before piercing ears yet so you subjecting your daughter to unwanted and unneccessary pain with out her consent and that is a form of body mutiliation or deformation. God didn't place holes in our ears to put earings in so based on some of the arguments above this would be considered mutilation.

And last on the mutilation topic. I cannot speak for medical centers all over, but when my son was circumcised they did not rip or tear skin off in anyway so describe circumcision in that way is uninformed. I went in with my son and was their for the entire procedure, not making my opinion or judgement based on hearing screams outside a door and asking what was going on and then letting my mind come up with how the procedure went. My son's legs were strapped to a devise to hold his legs in place for his protection (this was the worst part for my son as he did not like being held in place), he was then given a shot to numb the area and was allowed to nurse or have a bottle for the couple minutes while the shot took affect. A plastic ring called the bell was placed around the penis which did not hurt him in anyway, it is like putting a ring on your finger. His foreskin was then folded back over the bell and a string was tied around the foreskin pressing it against the plastic ring to cut off circulation. He was then unstrapped allowed to nurse and sent home with the instructions to give him tylenol every four to six hours for the next day or two if he seemed in pain. There was no cutting, ripping, or tearing of the foreskin as mentioned in some of the posts above by people who have never had it done to their son. My son had no complication and was not fussy or seemed in pain at all (for those questioning me, he did not cry anymore over the next couple days than he did before the procedure and never for any unexplained reason.), and the foreskin and ring fell off about 6 to 8 days later in a similar way that the umbilical cord stub did and my son didn't even notice it. The worst part was him having to be strapped down, which when he got his immunization shots both before and since the circumcision he hated being held down so the nurse could do them more than the shots themselves.

#4 I did not have my son circumcised so he could look like his father, but that is a benefit. I could argue that even though yours is the easier option by not circumcizing your son it does make it much easier for you that your husband is not circumcized and then isn't that a cosmetic reason not to have it done?

Sorry for how long this post was, but my main point is that you can find statistics and research on both sides of this choice and some of the ones mentioned above are good resources and some are not and many of the statistics in the earlier posts have been taken out of contect to prove a point as opposed to giving people the resource to look at for themselves and read the entire study. I will never believe a statistic someone quotes to prove their own point or agenda until I have read the research they are quoting for myself. Please realize there is scientific and proven data out there for circumcision as well and many of us making that choice have read the data on both sides. So calling us ignorant when we may have done even more research than you in making our choice makes you seem ignorant.

... They pull the skin up n one quick snip of the scissors n it's done. ...

Are you aware that at birth the foreskin is attached to the glans of the penis in much the same way that a nail is attached to the finger? There's no looseness there for the doctor to be able to pull it up and one quick snip. No, it has to be worked off of the glans, with those adhesions broken, leaving the exposed glans raw.

Hi Tammy - this is an interesting topic and one that should be discussed more often. Firstly, I am a European in a couple of ways. I was born and brought up in the United Kingdom to parents who are both Turkish Cypriots. Turks are predominantly Muslims but I have never been religious and my parents encouraged me to make my own choices. In fact, truth be told I always thought I was a God believing Non Denominational type. That said, when my son was born (he's 11 now) I just thought it was right to have him circumcized! Cultural throwback I guess. Once it was done (at about 1 year old and in a hospital under general an) I regretted it. There is no valid medical reason for this procedure. I tried to convince myself that it was more hygenic - but we teach our children to brush their teeth so we can teach them to wash properly in that area. It is also known to make the male organ less sensitive - so in adulthood perhaps less responsive sexually? And finally and most guilt inducing for me - why on earth did I put my one year old son through a medical procedure and take that risk with a general anesthetic when he was at no risk! After all any operation carries a degree of risk. So there are my thoughts. For some children it is necessary but for the majority of boys who are circumcized there is no reason for it other than cultural or religous - to be honest these are not enough - after all no one would condone female circumcision - and the advocates of this procedure tell us it is cultural.

Both of my boys are circumsized. I let my hubby decide this because I do not have a penis and thought he would be a better choice to make this decision. I stood behind his decision and helped him research the subject. Neither had or have had any problems and I am happy we made this decision.

All I kept reading was if it got infected, there's anti-biotics for that. Yes because risking it getting infected is a whole lot easier. What happenes with infection...tissue swells and what happens when foreskin swells..it can cut off circulation to the penis and then you're risking having the penis removed and a cathider permantely replacing the place where your chlds penis was. I'm not ignorant to any issues...I have done my research. My son doesnt hate me. Seriously my son was lying on a table thinking "why is my mommy being so mean to me? She is having a part of my torn off...why?" No...they dont think like that. And saying I had a piece of my sons penis "torn" off is an exaggeration. They pull the skin up n one quick snip of the scissors n it's done. haha. You guys make it sound so terrible. "I let some strange Doctor rip my son out of my arms and he walked down a barely light halway into a blinding bright room. The doctor takes the 3 day old infant and tosses him onto a cold surgical table and takes out his instruments of torure." I wont finish bc that story IS barabric. All the did was wheel my son down a hall and into another room. The left him covered but just revealed his penis. They cleaned the area and pulled back the skin and snip. Done. He cried a bit but once I got him back he was alreadt sleeping. When he woke up he was fine..no whining. He ate well...urinated fine...didnt cry when I even cleaned it or put that jelly stuff on it. Now he's 16 months old and hasnt had ne problems. He doesnt run around saying he hates me n i doubt he will when he is older. Everyone looks WAY to into this topic. The penis still works when they are older. I know men who are not circumcised and wish they were because they do have problems with infections (they are very clean by the way...they get them just as easily as girls get UTI's) Jjust sitting down is torture and pain meds dont blck all the pain. My Husband is circumcised and before I could say my opinion on it he already told me he wanted it done for our son even tho i already felt the same way. My husband has no problems with numbness. He has no problem climaxing. I have had no problems with it. I dont get chaffed or infections bc he is circumcised. He has never gotten chaffed either bc a little piece of skin is missing.

(PLEASE READ: To make things clear so no woman takes me the wrong way..the lil story was intended to be cruel and vulgur. Just because I am a mother who choose to have this procedure done this is how I feel. Like I am the most ignorant hateful person in the world that's out to get small infants and makes them suffer by tearing off body parts. I did it bc I LOVE MY SON and to me it was the best thing for him. I'm not saying I'm better than anyone or that any mother is less of a mother bc she choose not to have this done. We are all mothers trying to do the best we know how for our children. We have different judgements and opinions)

all three of my sons are circ'd. my fourth (i'm due in october) will be as well. before my first son was born, i did all sorts of research and was upset and dead set against it. my husband was very adamant, however, that our boys be circ'd. i fought him for a while, but since he usually gives in to me on matters, and he wouldn't budge on this one, i finally conceded. and i haven't really regretted it. he has gone to the room with the boys when they had it done (i couldn't handle doing it - i was already emotional!) and only one of the three cried, and it was like a second or two of surprised crying. my husband works in a nursing home and has to take care of people (change briefs and such) and he said he does not want his sons having cleanliness issues like some of the old men have. i understand why some of you are so adamant, i really do. but please stop being hateful to those of us who choose to circ. we are not horrible, mean, cruel parents. we love our sons with our lives, just as i'm sure you do. i would never ever pierce a baby girl's ears....but i won't call you cruel and evil if you do it. please just think before you send it out there - people on the other side of the computer have feelings, just like you do. and some of us are hormonal pregnant women. ;)

Thankyou for this. I have 1 son, uncircumcised. My husband feels very strongly against it. I agree with his reasoning, but that is the key, he felt strongly. He has the parts and should be allowed to make the decision for our son, just as if/when we have a girl, I get to choose when she gets her ears pierced. I know circumcision is a much bigger deal, but I respect what Jenn says here. She challenged her husband on the matter, he explained his reasoning, he was there to hold the baby and help them through it. That's what a family does.

I got my son circumcised and will if i have another boy. I dont look at it as cosmetic rather than for health reasons. My fiance and I discussed it before our son was even born. We didnt mutalate our son. He did fine and healed in a week. Besides it's better to do it while they are young so they dont remember. Men have MORE problems with it as they age so letting them decided when he get older wasnt an option. Ask any man...they dont care they have a piece of skin missing. It still works. Seems the only people with problems are women.

Oh wow! I'd say ask any man and they feel very passionately against it. My husband saw your e-mail and went on and on about his reasons.

If you're religious, God made us in his image, why change it?

If you're not religious, we've evolved to have it, there must be a reason.

My sons are not circumcised. My first son was a preemie so my husband, who wanted him to be circumcised, knew that if there was a complication (like infection) we would not be able to bring the baby home as scheduled (after a NICU stay of 73 days). I was relieved.

After doing tons of reading on the subject, I have come to the conclusion that circumcision is a cosmetic, optional surgery complete with complications and risks of medical mistakes. It cannot be undone (easily) and I do not wish to decide that one for my sons. They are welcome to have the procedure done later should they so choose.

My son, who is now 8, was circumcised at the age of 4 because of medical reasons. Thats the only reason i would ever have considered this procedure. I can't understand those who choose to do it for religious reasons, not that I have anything against any other religion i hasten to add. My son was in a lot of pain after, and the swelling didn't go down for quite a while. I did explore other options as I was taking into considerations what it would be like when he was older. I'm glad he had it done, but only because of the pain he was in beforehand.

I could never put my child through that kind of pain for any other reason except medical.

My son, who is now 8, was circumcised at the age of 4 because of medical reasons. Thats the only reason i would ever have considered this procedure. I can't understand those who choose to do it for religious reasons, not that I have anything against any other religion i hasten to add. My son was in a lot of pain after, and the swelling didn't go down for quite a while. I did explore other options as I was taking into considerations what it would be like when he was older. I'm glad he had it done, but only because of the pain he was in beforehand.

I could never put my child through that kind of pain for any other reason except medical.

Yep, and if you cut off your girl's breasts at birth she won't have to deal with breast cancer, mastitis, clogged ducts, cysts, etc.

Concerning STDs, can we say safe sex? And it hasn't even been conclusively proven.

The foreskin isn't even retractible in the first year. No bacteria getting under there. Infection occurs when people don't understand the proper care of a normal penis, and end up forcibly retracting it.

Has anyone considered that a woman has just as much possibility of bacteria, yeast infection, smelliness, etc. because of the folds and the warm, moist environment down there? Why don't we cut off a girl's labia in the US to prevent that? Girls can accumulate bacteria, sweat, dead skin cells and mucus in her folds as well if she is not taught to clean herself properly. But we do that don't we?

Again, there are no proven benefits of circumcision. If that were true, wouldn't all the men in the world, save Muslims, Jews, and the men in the US who are cut, be running en masse to be circumcised? Hmmm? And some how they manage to eek out normal healthy lives in that respect.

if you are facing the decision of whether or not to circumsize make sure it is an informed decision. That doesn't mean basing it off of the opinions expressed on this forum. there are plenty of online medical resources available.talk to your pediatrician. Grab an up-to-date maternity book from the library. talk to the father about what he prefers and why. there is little risk to the procedure and little risk without it. If you do decide to have it done make sure to find out if they will be using a pain killer. You should be aware that though the incision will mostly heal in a week you will have to maintain the area for weeks even months afterword (something no one told me and wasn't in the books). If you truly research the issue than you will feel confidant when others disagree with your decision.

Circumcisions are often done for health reasons. If you look up the statistics boys who are not circumcised have more UTI's are prone to prostrate disorders and have more difficulty with is as adults. The procedure may be recommended in older boys and men to treat phimosis (the inability to retract the foreskin) or to treat an infection of the penis. A decreased risk of urinary tract infections. A reduced risk of sexually transmitted diseases in men. Protection against penile cancer and a reduced risk of cervical cancer in female sex partners. Prevention of balanitis (inflammation of the glans) and balanoposthitis (inflammation of the glans and foreskin). Prevention of phimosis (the inability to retract the foreskin) and paraphimosis (the inability to return the foreskin to its original location). Circumcision also makes it easier to keep the end of the penis clean. These are medical proven reasons for circumcision. I think its hould be an informed decison. I had both my son's circumcised due to these reasons. My brother is not circumcised and as a child it didn't effect him but as an adult he has multiple UTI's and other issues.

I think people need to know that there are just as many if not more grown men who are not cir'd that have had NO issues ever with it!!!! BTW not all your 'facts' are proven, some are myth! (ie: STD's and cerv. cancer!)

Circumcisions are often done for health reasons. If you look up the statistics boys who are not circumcised have more UTI's are prone to prostrate disorders and have more difficulty with is as adults. The procedure may be recommended in older boys and men to treat phimosis (the inability to retract the foreskin) or to treat an infection of the penis.

A decreased risk of urinary tract infections.

A reduced risk of sexually transmitted diseases in men.

Protection against penile cancer and a reduced risk of cervical cancer in female sex partners.

Prevention of balanitis (inflammation of the glans) and balanoposthitis (inflammation of the glans and foreskin).

Prevention of phimosis (the inability to retract the foreskin) and paraphimosis (the inability to return the foreskin to its original location).

Circumcision also makes it easier to keep the end of the penis clean.

These are medical proven reasons for circumcision. I think its hould be an informed decison. I had both my son's circumcised due to these reasons. My brother is not circumcised and as a child it didn't effect him but as an adult he has multiple UTI's and other issues.

Circumcisions are often done for health reasons. If you look up the statistics boys who are not circumcised have more UTI's are prone to prostrate disorders and have more difficulty with is as adults. The procedure may be recommended in older boys and men to treat phimosis (the inability to retract the foreskin) or to treat an infection of the penis.

A decreased risk of urinary tract infections.

A reduced risk of sexually transmitted diseases in men.

Protection against penile cancer and a reduced risk of cervical cancer in female sex partners.

Prevention of balanitis (inflammation of the glans) and balanoposthitis (inflammation of the glans and foreskin).

Prevention of phimosis (the inability to retract the foreskin) and paraphimosis (the inability to return the foreskin to its original location).

Circumcision also makes it easier to keep the end of the penis clean.

These are medical proven reasons for circumcision. I think its hould be an informed decison. I had both my son's circumcised due to these reasons. My brother is not circumcised and as a child it didn't effect him but as an adult he has multiple UTI's and other issues.